Pain, Panic, and Plague - Hercules
by missmircea
Summary: "WHO DARES ENTER THE UNDERWORLD?" A blind slave girl has made her way into the Underworld and is offering to sell her soul for the sake of her loved one. This strange woman can possibly be the key to Hades's success to rule the cosmos, yet can she be way more than Hades bargained for? Based off of the animated Disney series.
1. Chapter 1- Her arrival

The Fates giggled to themselves while waiting for Hades in his throne room.

"It seems the time has come for her to arrive." said Clotho-Fate of the Present.

"This will be _very_ interesting." smirked Atropos-Fate of the Future.

"Her story has led her all the way here." said Lachesis-Fate of the Past.

Hades walked in with his arms wide open.

"Ladies, ladies, looking beautiful as always," said Hades. "Now then, let's get down to business-"

The Fates loudly shushed him.

"Quiet Hades, someone is approaching." said Clotho.

"What? To the underworld?" asked Hades. "I'll let Cerberus and the imps deal with him, don't worry your pretty little heads about it."

"No, you may want to see this." added Clotho, she took the eye that the three fates shared and threw it into the air, where it transformed into a visible screen that displayed the intruder.

"Who is that?" asked Hades as he leaned in closer.

The young woman stood at the edge of the River Styx, she held her lyre with great care and waited patiently for Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx. She adjusted her hood and cloak with her free hand and she sensed that the Dark Lord Hades was watching her every move.

"Are you a soul or a mortal?" asked Charon.

The woman turned to where the voice resonated from and slowly walked in that direction. She took out one obol from her leather satchel and held it out.

"Does it matter, dear ferryman?" she asked.

Charon shrugged and took the obol from her hand. She flinched as his cold boney hand touched her skin.

"Hop on, mortal." he snickered. He extended his hand out for her to take and the young woman carefully got onto the black boat.

As Charon started rowing she could hear the growls and howling from Cerberus. The young woman hesitantly propped up her lyre on her knee and began playing.

From the throne room Hades watched and listened intently as she played. The Fates could only try to contain their snickers.

The young woman then opened her mouth, and out came the most melodious voice.

_O' dear beast who guards the door_

_Listen to my song_

_Rest ye three weary heads_

_And soon may you not wake_

_For in your sleep dream of me_

_Singing on this lake_

_Fur as dark as the silent night_

_And eyes as red as blood_

_Rest ye three weary heads_

_And be no threat for now_

Cerberus's growls slowly became quiet whimpers. The mighty beast then fell asleep.

The young woman turned to Charon, who also fell asleep. Charon nodded himself awake and continued rowing.

Hades turned to the fates with wide eyes.

"Who is that?!" he asked.

"We cannot answer that." they said.

"Listen, I'm not asking for the future here, I just wanna know who she is, okay?" he asked.

"Her past has nothing to do with who she is now." stated Lachesis.

"Her present has nothing to do with who she is now." added Clotho.

"Her future has nothing to do with who she is now." finished Atropos.

"What does that mean then?" asked Hades as he rubbed his forehead.

"We don't know." they answered. "We can't tell you anything about her."

"Oy vey…" sighed Hades, he turned back to the screen.

The boat had reached the other side of the river and Charon helped the young woman off the boat. She politely thanked him for his work and Charon rowed off. She could hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet running towards her.

"Stop where you are!" said Pain.

"We're taking you to Hades, intruder!" shouted Panic.

The young woman quickly strummed her lyre, and the two imps slowed their pace. They stopped in front of her, trying to get a glimpse of her face under her hood.

"W-Who are you?" stammered Panic.

"I am no one really," she stated. "Did you say that you were going take me to Hades?"

"Yes, we will," said Pain as he straightened his back. "And no tears or begging will ever get us to change our minds. Do you understand?"

"Wonderful!" she cheered, she walked a few steps forward. "Lead on."

Pain and Panic looked at each other with confusion, but then walked in front of her to lead her to Hades. As they walked up the steps towards Hades, Panic looked at her questionably.

"So why do you want to see Hades?" he asked.

"I have something very important to ask of him." she answered.

"How important? We don't want to waste Hades's time you know." said Pain.

"Well, I suppose you can say it's more of a…life or _death_ situation." she giggled.

The three continued up the stairs, the young woman held onto the railing until she reached the door.

"Here it is, Hades's throne room." said Panic, stretching out his arms to show off the door.

The Fates turned off the eyeball screen and Hades sat down in his throne that faced the main door. The door threw open and entered the imps and the young woman. Hades cleared his throat and bellowed out a deep and over glorified voice,

** "WHO DARES ENTER THE UNDERWORLD?"** he bellowed.

The Fates rolled their one eye. The young woman took a fearful step back in surprise.

"I am merely a mortal, dear Lord Hades of the Underworld." she answered while bowing.

Pain and Panic ran up to Hades and sat next to him. Hades grinned at turned to them.

"You see, I don't get respect like this anymore." he whispered to them. He turned and faced her again. "Step forward."

The young woman cautiously took small steps towards him.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"My name is nothing that you have to worrying over, my lord." she stated.

Hades sighed and broke his "high-and-mighty" act.

"Listen babe, I just wanna know your name." he said.

The young woman remained silent and then unveiled her hood to reveal her face. Hades looked at her carefully and saw that both of her eyes were completely milky pale. Her skin was pale and blotchy, covered with deep red spots and scars that covered her rosy cheeks. Her olive colored hair was roughly cut and looked mangled and messy. Hades's eyes grew wide.

"Yeesh, ever hear of make-up?" he asked.

The young woman shook her head.

"I don't need make up," she said. "For my eyes cannot see my face, or the face of those who look at me."

"So, do you even have a name?" he asked again.

She shook her head.

"No, as you can see by my short hair, I am a slave. My master has not given me a name." she answered.

Hades leaned back in his throne and lit up a cigar.

"So, what is it you want?" he asked.

"Lord of the Underworld, please hear me out," she said. "My lover has died and has come to your domain, I wish that you can revive him."

"No can do. I'm the Lord of the '**Dead**', remember?" he answered.

"Please, I'm begging you, at least…at least let me hear his voice again." she begged.

Hades sighed and snapped his fingers, a skull appeared in his hands, when the skull opened its mouth a blood curdling scream shot out.

_**"DEAR GODS HAVE MERCY ON ME!"**_ the voice cried.

The young woman covered her ears in dismay. Hades closed the skull and it disappeared.

"There you have it, that was him. Anything else?"

"He's….he's in pain! Why is he…"

"He's in a little place where we call…'Tartarus', ever heard of that before?" he answered.

"But...but Tartarus is for the damned!" she cried.

"Listen, I don't know what he did, but whatever he did, he did to deserve a spot in eternal torment, okay?"

The young woman shook her head in dismay, she tried to speak, but no words would come out.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked.

"Please…please revive him, I'll do anything!" she said.

"Anything?"

She nodded. Hades thought for a moment.

"Nah," he said. "What in gods name could I do with a blind slave?"

The young woman had the face of dismay.

"I….I….' she stammered. "I can follow orders without fail!"

"Already have the imps. Anything else?" said Hades.

"I can cook, clean, praise, pray!"

"Imps, imps, imps, and what else…oh yeah, imps!" casually answered Hades. "Listen, I don't need any help okay? That's what I have these guys for."

Hades patted Pain and Panic on their heads. The Fates giggled and the young woman turned to their voices.

"What else can you do my dear?" asked Atropos.

"I..." she whispered. "I can see into the future..."

Hades paused for a moment.

"Can you repeat that?"

"I can see into the future!" she said louder.

"Hmm…" said Hades, he rubbed his chin for a moment in thought. "Well, I can't rely on the Fates all too well…"

"Hey!" said the Fates.

The imps shushed them.

"Well, then, let's make a deal!" said Hades, he hopped off of his throne and went up to the young woman. "Listen, I'll make you a special deal, I'll revive your little lover boy, that sounds nice right?"

"Yes, thank you so much-"

"_IF_, you take his place in the Underworld, and will be my oracle."

She nodded her head without hesitation. Hades laughed and shook her hand.

"Bada-bing, bada-boom, we got a deal!" he cheered.

Hades snapped his fingers and out appeared her lover. He had golden curly locks and a well toned body.

"AHHH NO, STOP DON'T-" screamed the man. The man looked around questionably. "Where…where am I?"

"You're on your way to freedom buddy-boy!" said Hades while patting his back. "Your little lady here just sold her soul off just let you live!"

"Little lady?" he asked. He turned and saw the young woman.

"Anastasius!" the woman cried. She followed his voice and ran towards him with arms wide open. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Oh…it's you…" said Anastasius. He hesitantly hugged her back. "Thank you so much…my uh..love."

"Aw how sweet, two love birds reunited again." said Hades. "But we don't have time for that, I've got some planning to do, now off you go, back up top."

The young woman held onto him a little while longer before letting him go. Anastasius practically raced to Charon's boat and ordered him to start rowing. Hades watched Anastasius suspiciously.

"So… what's the deal with you two?" he asked.

"He was the son of my master," she answered. "One night he came to me and told me he loved me, and it was just that from then on, until he died that is…but he's alive again, thanks to you!"

"No problem babe, now let's get to that future planning business." said Hades.

The young woman stood there bashfully.

"What, what's wrong?" asked Hades.

"Well you see…."

"Don't tell you can't actually see into the future?!" said Hades, his blue skin became red hot with anger.

"No, no! I can see into the future, but…only in my dreams…" she answered.

"So you have to fall asleep?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I also can't really control what I can see into the future…" she added.

Hades sighed.

"I should've known there was a catch…" he murmured to himself. "Okay, well better get you a bed so you can rest up. PAIN, PANIC."

Pain and Panic raced towards Hades and saluted him.

"Go and get our new arrival a place to sleep." he ordered.

"Yes your dreadfulness." they said. They took the young woman's hands and led her out of the throne room.

Hades turned to the Fates.

"So…" groaned Hades.

"What are you going to name her?" they asked.

"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you know everything?" asked Hades.

"Not her, she's different, she's not in our range of…sight." they answered.

"I have to name her? Can't I just call her mortal or something?"

"Naming her will be easy. You named those two imps and that mutt." said Clotho.

"Hmmm." replied Hades in thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When night came the young woman sat on her new bed with happiness. It was the first time she had a 'real' bed with a mattress, pillows, and blanket. Her room was just a bed alone, no windows, no furniture, not even a door, she only had an open space where a door should be, her lyre, and a soft bed.

Hades walked inside her room.

"Hey, how's the new room?" asked Hades. Hades looked around the empty and dark room.

"It's wonderful! I never had a room of my own before, thank you so much Lord Hades." she answered cheerfully.

"No problem babe, now you get to sleeping so I can beat that Jerkules." he said. She nodded. "By the way...I got you something...think of it as a "Welcome to team Hades" gift."

She cocked her head in confusion.

"I have two other minions, Pain, Panic, and my new addition…Plague!" he said. Hades pinned a name tag onto her chiton that read, "Hello, my name is: PLAGUE." "How do you like it?"

Plague felt her metal name tag and smiled.

"Thank you so much lord Hades!" she replied.

"No problem, if you need anything else ask Pain and Panic, okay?" said Hades, he got up and headed outside.

"Wait." said Plague. Hades turned and faced her.

"Yeah?"

"If…if it isn't too much trouble, while I'm sleeping can you please check up on Anastasius? I don't need to see him, but I just want to know if he's alright…"

"Sure, I'll take a glimpse on the lover-boy for you."

Plague nodded her head in thanks and turned onto her to sleep. Hades left the room and walked into his throne room where Pain and Panic were watching on his Tartarus screen. When they saw Hades they quickly sat up.

"You know, I might actually be able to beat Jerkules with her here now," commented Hades. "She follows orders, and doesn't question me too much, despite her being blind, this might actually work."

Hades sat down in his throne and flipped through the channels on the tv.

"What are you going to watch, boss?" asked Pain.

"She asked me to check on her boyfriend, so I might as well." he answered.

The screen revealed Anastasius, and Hades leaned back in his chair snacking on a bowl of worms. Anastasius was sitting in a bar, surrounded by women.

"-And so I beat him, and triumphantly walked out of the Underworld without a scratch!" Anastasius proclaimed.

The women oohed and ahhed.

"I can't believe you single-handedly beat Hades!" said one woman.

"Won't he come and find you?" another woman asked while rubbing his shoulders.

"No, a slave of mine took my place, probably burning in Tartarus as we speak by now." said Anastasius.

"Isn't that sad?"

"Not at all, that slave got what she- uh…_he_ deserved," he answered. "You see, he constantly beat me and followed me around when no one was looking. He stole from my father and ran off with his goods! He was absolutely ugly too."

" Oh how horrible!" cried one of the ladies.

"It's true, but I managed to escape, thank Zeus for that." he sighed.

Hades jaw dropped open.

A man suddenly walked into the bar. He was tall and looked like the older version of Anastasius.

"Father?"

"Son! It really is you!" the man said as he hugged Anastasius.

"Well ladies, I better get going, I must go celebrate my return with my loving family." said Anastasius with a bow. The ladies whined that he was leaving. Anastasius took the hand of a woman and kissed it. "Don't worry I'll be back tomorrow."

Anastasius and his father walked out of the bar.

"So how'd you do it _really_?" asked his father.

Anastasius grinned wickedly while taking out a cigar.

"That blind slave girl took my place." he answered.

"Her? I thought you were in love with her?" his father asked.

Anastasius burst out laughing.

"In love? With **Her**? Please, I only used her to get what I want. I knew all along that someone was planning on killing me, so I made her fall in love with me so that she _had_ to come back and get me from the Underworld."

"Good thinking son!" cheered his dad.

Hades blankly stared at the screen for a long time before turning it off. Pain and Panic looked up at Hades.

"That's...evil...more evil than I am," he said dumbfoundedly.

That next morning Plague woke up and rubbed her eyes. She yawned and got out of bed, brushing off her ragged chiton with her hands. She explored her empty room to get a feel of where she was. She picked up her lyre and gently plucked at its strings.

Pain and Panic heard her playing and went into her room. When she heard them come in she stopped playing.

"You're up already?" asked Panic.

"Yes, I would to go to Hades so I can tell him what I dreamed of." she answered.

Pain and Panic nodded and took her hands as they led her to Hades. He was still in his throne room, but he turned his throne into an office chair and a black desk was in front of him, he was scribbling and signing different sheets of paper. He sighed and pulled his flame hair back his hand.

"Hades, she's awake." said Pain.

Hades looked up from his desk.

"Ah, good morning my little minions." he said. Hades snapped his fingers and the desk and papers disappeared. "So, any dreams?"

Plague nodded.

"Yes, I had a dream of a boy with…orange hair…." she said.

"Hercules?"

She nodded.

"Yes…that's his name, and he was driving a chariot that was carrying the sun." she said.

"The sun? _Apollo's chariot_? Jerkules was driving Apollos chariot?_** Oh this is gold!**_" cheered Hades.

Plague stood in the room longer.

"Need anything? Do you have something else to say?" asked Hades.

"I was just wondering about...Anastasius." she said.

"Oh yeah, that guy..." said Hades. He recalled that cocky mortal living it up alive, telling others that he "beat Hades."

_"Should I tell her...?"_

Hades cleared his throat.

"Oh, w-well, your lover-boy sure is devastated, you know," he lied. "But, he's alive, he's eating well, growing boy."

Plague seemed to sigh in relief she nodded her head and left the room.

"How come you didn't tell her the truth boss?" asked Pain.

Hades sat in thought.

_"Now...why **didn't** I tell her the truth?" _


	2. 2- Hercules and the Apollo Mission (1)

It was intern week for the students of Prometheus academy. A splendid few days for students to get a taste of the real world. However, for Hercules, son of Zeus, this was anything but splendid.

"Cassandra, our little ray of sunshine shall staff the in formation booth." said Mr. Parentheses.

Cassandra stood at the booth with a small smile on her face.

"This isn't terrible, I don't hate this." she said.

"And Icarus-Zeus help us- you are going to work at "Aphrodite's Secret."

A happy Icarus was surrounded by beautiful women.

"This isn't terrible, I don't hate this." he said.

"And Hercules, spawn of Zeus will work at, "Hero World."

Hercules was ecstatic, he hugged the life out of his teacher and headed to work. However, it was not actually "Hero World" instead it was,

"Hero World? No, no, it's "Gyro Wurld!" said his boss.

Hercules groaned.

Hades watched from his tv as Adonis came by and humiliated Hercules.

"This is too good!" he said.

He turned to Plague who sat by him.

"When's he gonna get the chariot?" he asked.

"Hercules will get tired of his job and will ask his father for help," she answered. "You will have to go to Mount Olympus and persuade Zeus to make Apollo give Hercules the chariot, and that's the end of my dream."

Hades smiled and watched the tv until it was his time to go. Then came the moment, Hercules was talking to his father.

"I shouldn't have quit…you wouldn't have right?" asked Hercules.

He stood in a statue store, talking to a bust of Zeus.

"You darn tooting' I would!" answered Zeus.

"Huh?"

"You should've ditched that job from the get go! No son of mine is gonna sling mutton, it's humiliating!" Zeus said, he raised his voice. "I'll see to it that you'll get a job worthy of your pedigree!"

People around the store looked at Hercules and the state with wide eyes.

"That's my cue, better go." said Hades.

Hades transported on Mount Olympus where a meeting of the gods was taking place.

"Hey send the little semi-god down my way, I always need a dew "working stiffs." he laughed.

"Hercules in the Underworld? HA! I'd rather see him back in the fast food joint." chuckled Zeus.

Hades rolled his eyes.

_"You just wait Zeus…" _

"A job…for my son…hmm" Said Zeus as he rubbed his chin in thought.

All other gods avoided eye contact with him.

"Son…? Sun! HA! Apollo!"

Apollo looked at Zeus in dismay.

"Why don't you let Hercules drive your "sun buggy" for a week?" asked Zeus.

"H-Hercules…drive…_my_ solar chariot?" nervously asked Apollo.

Hades popped up behind Apollo.

"He'd love to do it! Bro, that is a stroke of divine inspiration!" he said.

Zeus held his head up in confidence. After the meeting Hades returned to the Underworld.

"This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" said Hades. "Pain, Panic, I'll need you to go steal the sun from Jerkules."

"Yes sir!" they said.

"Plague!" said Hades.

Plague turned to Hades.

"Plague, my little minion, when I become ruler of Olympus I'm making you a goddess!"

Plague smiled as a reply and went back to room to take a nap.

Hercules was driving the solar chariot, unknown to him that Pain and Panic were carefully watching him. While driving the chariot he rode closer to Agora, the mall. There he saw Adonis looking up with his mouth wide open.

"Hey Adonis, how's this for a job?" laughed Hercules.

As Hercules was gloating he couldn't control the chariot, and spun out of control, hitting parts of the Earth. This was Pain and Panic's chance, they flew behind the sun on their harpies and unchained the sun from the chariot.

"WOOHOOOO" They cheered as they drove back to the Underworld with the sun.

As Hercules looked back and saw that the sun was gone, he crashed into a nearby mountain. He tumbled to the ground, and Apollo's horses ran off.

"This has been a very bad….day." he muttered.

Without the brightness of the sun, Athens was in chaos. Pillagers stormed the Agora and people were being robbed blind. Everything was absolute destruction.

However, back in the Underworld Hades and the imps literally were relaxing under the sun. Hades skin became darker from tanning too long.

"Ah, this is the afterlife." sighed Hades.

Hades looked at his sundial watch.

"Well, I better go rock that vote and become new ruler of Olympus." said Hades. "Watch over the sun for me, okay guys?"

"Yes your tanfull-ness." replied Pain and Panic.

**"HOW SHOULD I KNOW WHERE THE SUN IS?** You think I'm omniscient or something?" asked Zeus.

"Yes." groaned the gods.

"Oh, they got you there big guy." said Hermes while wiping his sunglasses.

"I'm sure my son has a good explanation for this, if I can find him." murmured Zeus.

"Losing one son is tragic enough, but losing two "sons" is real bad "hoo-doo." smirked Hades.

"Hey…you look different, did you change your hair or something?" said Hermes, as he carefully looked at the much, tanner Hades. Hades pushed Hermes aside.

"You know I wouldn't be surprised if these guys called for a "no confidence vote" and put some deserving god up as a replacement for ya."

"A REPLACEMENT? _YOU?_" yelled Zeus as he grabbed Hades by his tunic.

"Yes! Thank you, yes! I humbly accept a nomination." replied Hades while patting his brother's hand.

"Forget it Hades, I'm Zeus, Lord of Olympus, and my fellow gods would never vote to unseat me, right?" asked Zeus as he turned to the other gods. The gods glared at Zeus with disapproval. Zeus chuckled nervously.

"ALRIGHT, enough chit-chat, let's rock the vote!" said Hades.

As Hercules sat in guilt, Icarus had pointed out to Hercules that there was a shaft of light coming from the ground.

"I'm going to get back that sun, and return to the sky where it belongs!" he said.

"And I'm going with you!" added Icarus. "Right to the sun, right to the Underworld, right to Hades-WHAT AM I SAYING?!"


	3. 3- Hercules and the Apollo Mission (2)

Hercules prepared himself for the Underworld by putting on his Gyro Wurld uniform. Despite working at a fast food place, he followed the rules his boss told him: Always wear oven mitts and lift with your legs and not with your back.

"Make mine mutton!" he said proudly before entering the door to the Underworld.

The Underworld was practically melting. Pain and Panic were dying of thirst when they heard,

"Get your ice cold fig smoothie!" said Icarus.

Pain and Panic raced to him, gulping down the smoothie. After many refills, their stomachs grew large, and they were immobile. Plague woke up from her nap in a cold sweat. She had a terrible nightmare. She ran out of her room, running towards the warmth of the sun.

She had dreamed that Hercules took back the sun and Hades's plan had failed.

_"I must tell Hades that Hercules is-"_

Her eyes grew wide as she heard Hercules's voice. She heard the groans of Pain and Panic as they took more sips of the fig smoothie. Plague ran towards the sun, holding out her hand.

She couldn't speak, she knew she wasn't able to speak, unless-

"Who are you?" asked Icarus.

She quickly turned to his voice.

"I…I am Plague, servant of Hades." she answered.

"Servant of Hades ooh okay!…Wait…SERVANT OF HADES?"

Hercules turned to Icarus when he heard him yell.

"You work for Hades?" nervously asked Icarus.

Plague nodded.

"Hercules, you must stop!" she cried.

"What, why?" he asked. Hercules had already managed to unchain the sun.

"Hades will not be happy…" she answered.

"I'm sorry, but I have to return the sun!" said Hercules.

He and Icarus ran off, and far away from the Underworld. Plague followed the crackling noises of the sun. They ran towards the nearest volcano where Hercules placed the sun.

The gods were setting their vote. Hermes chiseled down the gods's votes on a slab of stone.

Apollo was the only god left to vote.

"I'm giving you ten seconds to cast your vote!" said Hades. "10…9…"

Back at the Volcano, Icarus had fallen onto a tree while Hercules hung onto the edge of the volcano. Plague managed to run up the side of the volcano to Hercules.

"Why are you doing this?!" asked Hercules.

"Don't you understand? I made a deal with Hades!"

"Listen, I can help you, my father is Zeus, he can help you!"

Plague shook her head.

"Why?"

"It…it isn't my destiny, Hercules." she answered.

She attempted to reach for him, but instead had touched the burning sun. She pulled her burnt hand away from its flames.

** "3….2….1!"**

"Be careful!" cried Hercules. The sun shot out from the volcano, and it soared up all the way into Olympus, Hercules grabbed onto a loose chain that was still wrapped around the sun. Plague slipped and fell down the volcano.

"I regretfully vote for the new ruler…." said Apollo.

However, Zeus had caught both the son and Hercules in his giant hand. All the gods cheered as they saw the shining sun.

Hades turned bright red.

"I **demand** that you name rightful lord-"

Pain and Panic rushed into the meeting, heavy and panting.

"Your morbidness! Hercules stole back the sun!" said Pain.

Hades growled at them in anger and burnt them to a crisp. Hades turned to the other gods and chuckled nervously.

"Hey...c'mon all in good fun right? Why don't we just let this be water under the bridge?"

Zeus took a lightning bolt and shot Hades right out of Olympus where he landed in the Underworld.

When the sun returned, everything went back to normal. However, Plague was very much in pain, she had been burnt by the sun and had fallen from a volcano. She was sure that her employee insurance didn't cover this. She managed to find her way to the nearest home.

_"What will Hades say about this…I wonder…" _

There was a knock on her door. Hercules entered her room and scratched the back of his head. Plague was resting in Hercules's house, where his mother had treated her wounds.

"Uh…Hello there." he said as he pulled a seat next to her. "I-I know that we only met for like…10 minutes, but…"

Plague waited for him to continue talking.

"U-Um…do you think Hades will come and get you?" he asked.

"Possibly…" she answered. She rubbed her burnt arm.

"How's the arm?" he asked.

"It doesn't hurt anymore…your mother put some sort of ointment on it, she said that it will leave a few scars."

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to get hurt." he said. "Do you think I can help you in return?"

"Hercules, you don't need to apologize for anything…" she said. "I don't need any favors either, but thank you."

"No, but, I really want to help you. I can even try to break your deal with Hades. I-Is that okay?"

"What will happen then? If my deal with Hades is broken, where will I go? I am only but a slave. I'm not free like everyone else."

"Y-You're…a slave?"

"Slavery isn't as popular here as I thought. But yes, I am a slave." she answered.

"I can free you then! You can go to school at Prometheus, you don't have to work for Hades."

Plague shook her head.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"For a hero-in-training you're not very good at looking at the obvious," she stated. "Hercules, I'm blind, I can't go to school like the others."

Hercules looked closer at her pale eyes.

"Wait…who told you I was a hero in training?" he asked.

"No one did, I just know."

They sat in silence for a while.

"Are you sure you don't need my help…?"

Plague took his hand and patted it softly.

"You are so nice Hercules," she said. "All I could ever want is my sight back, but that isn't possible."

"Why not?"

"Perhaps you should ask Athena…" she answered quietly.

"Athena? Why ask Athena-"

**"PLAGUUUUEEEE."** cried out Pain and Panic.

They flew in through the window and they were covered in burns and bruises from Hades.

They both gasped.

"What's Hercules doing here?" asked Panic.

"This is his house." she answered.

"Wait till Hades hears about this, c'mon, we're going home." said Pain.

Hercules waved goodbye as the minions hopped onto a harpie and flew back to the Underworld.

"Ask…Athena? Hmm…" said Hercules.


	4. Chapter 4-Her curse

"You met up with Hercules?!" yelled Hades, it was the first time he was yelling at Plague.

"I-I'm sorry…he just wanted to apologize…" she answered.

"Apologize? For what? Are you betraying me right now? ON YOUR THIRD DAY?!"

"No!" Plague cried. "I didn't betray you lord Hades…"

"Then explain to me why Jerkules was in the picture, hm?"

Plague sighed and unraveled the bandage that covered her arm. She held up the large burnt spot to Hades.

"Where did that come from?" Hades asked.

"When Pain and Panic were not able to protect the sun I tried to get the sun back and got burnt, but…I was already too late. When I got burnt Hercules wanted to apologize for my injury." she answered.

Hades glared at Pain and Panic for not being able to protect the sun, but then slowly turned back to Plague.

"And that's all, right?" he asked.

Plague nodded.

"Alrighty then, you can go now." said Hades.

Plague walked out of the throne room and into her bedroom. Hades rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"Oy vey…" he muttered.

"You know, you're much too hard on the poor girl." commented Atropos.

"That mutt Cerberus has a better room than she does!" said Lachesis.

"What do you want me to do, give her a better room?" asked Hades.

"Not just that, at least treat her like a human." said Clotho.

"The poor girl has been wearing the same old rags day in and day out."

"What's the sudden interest with my minion?" asked Hades.

"Look," said Lachesis, she held up a thread of life, it glowed very dimly. "This is her thread of life, you see that glow? It's dim, but it's glowing."

"That means that she's **_immortal_**." said Clotho.

"Hold the phone, I thought that she was a mortal slave girl." said Hades while holding his hands up.

"Her thread says other wise." stated Atropos.

"This doesn't make a difference." sighed Hades. "Pain and Panic are immortal, so what?"

"Hades, you have an immortal, obedient, oracle minion in your possession, at least show her some gratitude."

"This is something…all three of you agreed on?" asked Hades.

The Fates nodded.

"Wowza, it's not very often when the three bickering Fates agree on something, alright, I'll fix her up a little, some clothes, a closet, yeah yeah, but what do I get in return?"

"Are you kidding us!?" screech Clotho.

"Why do we have to give anything to you?!" asked Lachesis.

"We'll give the girl her sight." stated Atropos.

Her two sisters turned to her.

"**WHAT?**"

"Her sight….hm, that'll make her much more useful." said Hades. "So long as her future seeing powers don't disappear, we have a deal."

"Alright then."

"How are we going to give her sight?!" asked Clotho.

Atropos sighed and took the eye out of Lachesis sockets. She squeezed the eye in her hands and the eye became small, and more human sized.

"We'll lend her our eye." she answered.

**"WHAT?!**" asked the other two sisters.

"You dummies, she can help us too!" screeched Atropos.

"Pardon?" asked Hades.

"Hades, we'll give her the ability to see in only one eye, so long as you lend her to us once in a while to help us work and spruce her up a bit." said Atropos.

The two sisters came the realization and then nodded in agreement.

"Oh I see, you want a little helper too, cutting threads getting harder these days?" asked Hades. "But sure, so long as I get something out of it, you got yourself a deal."

The three sisters nodded.

The agreement was made, and while Plague was sleeping the three sisters creeped into her room and replaced her blind right eye with their healthy one. When the eye was in place Hades snapped his finger and out appeared the "necessary" things for a human being.

The Fates work was done, and then they left the Underworld.

That next morning Plague woke up. However, something was different, she opened her eyes and saw….

_**She saw.**_

Plague saw for the first time in ages, although it was only from one eye, she started crying tears of joy.

"How'd you like the new room?" asked Hades. "Oh and the ability to see."

Plague couldn't contain herself, she ran up to Hades and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank the gods! Lord Hades, thank you, thank you, you don't understand how much this means to me!" she cried.

"No problemo babe, but with that new eye that means you'll be working a lot more different jobs for me." he added.

Plague nodded, she let go and bowed her head in thanks.

"Now then, get changed up, we have dreams to discuss, okay?"

"Changed?" Plague looked around her room, it was completely different. There was a closet, a book shelf, a window, and even a door! "Oh, Lord Hades you didn't have to do so much, really!"

"Let's just say someone I know requested it…." said Hades.

Hades walked out of her room and closed the door.

"Well she was happy." commented Pain.

"What are we gonna do now that she can see?" asked Panic.

"I'll have her go to orientation, do some odd jobs, things like that, I still need some time before I can think big."

"What about Prometheus?" asked Panic.

"What about Prometheus?" repeated Hades.

"Well, I thought that since she already kinda knows Hercules she can try to trick him or something evil like that." explained Panic.

"That's….a brilliant idea!"

"Well…I try." bashfully said Panic.

Hades and the imps waited in the throne room for Plague. Plague was ecstatic, she opened her closet and saw a few outfits, but to her it was more than she ever owned.

She quickly grabbed a blood red tunic and a black himation ( kinda light and cloak-like) and pulled it over her head, when she strapped on her leather sandals she happily walked to the throne room.

"There she is, happy as ever I see, so any dreams?" asked Hades.

Plague sat down on a chair near Hades throne and turned towards him.

"Let's see…last night I saw Prometheus academy." she answered.

"Prometheus? What were you doing there?" asked Hades.

"In my dream…I was a student there…and I was walking to class, that's all I dreamt really."

"Plague, well you sure can see the future, you see the big boss here thought that you can go to school, of course to spy on Hercules." said Hades.

"_The big boss thought_?" asked Panic. "That was my idea!"

Hades ignored him.

"So what do you think? You can read and write, right?"

"Yes, I can read and write, but…."

"But what?"

"I…I just don't think I'm ready for school." she answered.

"What, why not? C'mon, you'll make friends, learn stuff, who doesn't want to go to school?"

"School is just…something very different for someone like me…" she answered.

"Oh yeah, you were a slave…right," said Hades. "You'll get used to it, it''l be fun, besides, I gave you your sight and those clothes right? I scratch your back you scratch mine right?"

"You did…" nodded Plague. "I-I'm sorry, I'll go to school."

"Woohoo! It won't be that hard, besides all you need to do is get buddy-buddy with Herc, and just follow my orders, you think you can do that?"

Plague nodded.

"Uh boss, if you don't me saying…most kids aren't named "Plague." said Pain.

Hades turned to Plague and thought for a moment.

"It's your choice, you can be called "Bob" for all I care, what do you want your name to be?" asked Hades.

Without hesitation Plague answered,

"Parthenope!"

"Parthenope?"

"Y-yes…if that's alright with you Lord Hades." she added.

Hades shrugged and didn't think of the name much.

"Sure, Parthenope it is then, you'll start school tomorrow." he said.

* * *

The Muses watched Hercules eagerly.

**"And so our hero went to seek guidance from-"** said the narrator.

"SHHH!" the muses hissed.

**"Why I never-" **

"We're trying to hear was Hercules is asking Athena, Bob!"

At a temple in Athens, Hercues stood in front of a statue of Athena.

"Oh goddess Athena, goddess of reason and intelligence….d-do you think I can ask you a question?" asked Hercules.

Athena's stone statue began to move.

"What would you like to ask of me, son of Zeus?" Athena asked.

"Well…do you happen to know a girl named Plague?"

"Who on Earth would be named Plague?" Athena asked in disgust. "And no, I don't know of any Plague."

"Well…uh…let's see, she's about this tall," said Hercules and gestured his hand to the height of Plague. "She has short dark hair, she has red blotches on her face, uh...and she's blind."

Athena quickly glared at Hercules.

_"Her?"_ she sternly asked.

"Y-yes?"

"I know of her, I cursed her." stated Athena.

"C-cursed her? Why?"

"Her curiosity got the best of her."

"You wouldn't mind explaining, would you?" asked Hercules.

Athena sighed.

"Many years ago, the one you know as "Plague" was a priestess in one of my many temples," she said. "One day she read a sacred book that no mortal was allowed to read, and I cursed her for eternity."

"T-that's a little much don't you think?"

"Not at all, she's immortal anyways," she added. "I blinded her so that she may never look at anything to learn from, I banished her from all my temples, and as another punishment, she can only speak when asked a question."

"Just for reading some book?!" asked Hercules.

"It was a sacred book."

"She-she became a slave!"

"If that's what become of her then so be it."

"She had to make a deal with Hades! She sold her soul!" cried Hercules.

"That was of her own free will." hissed Athena. "If that's all, I shall be going now."

The statue once again turned into stone, and Hercules sat down in dismay.

"Oh my gods…" he sighed while combing his hand through his hair.


	5. Chapter 5-Her first day

Apollo had barely woken up himself when Plague was knocking on Hades's door. The tired Hades slowly opened the door and looked at Plague.

"Do you know how early it is?" he asked.

"It's..VIII, o' clock, I'm sorry, I just couldn't go back to sleep. I was too excited." answered Plague.

Hades yawned and scratched his head.

"Oh well, the early bird catches the worm I guess." he said.

Hades and Plague walked towards the edge of River Styx where Charon waited. As they got onto the boat Plague could feel her heart rate go faster, she felt like she was going to be sick.

Hades noticed her greenish color.

"There's nothing to worry about really, it's just high school, got it?" asked Hades. He helped adjust her tunic. "Now then, you remember what you need to do, right babe?"

Plague nodded.

"I have to be friends with Hercules and try to find out his weakness and report them to you." she answered.

"Good, just come back to the Underworld right after school. I'll get one of the dead souls of philosophers to do your homework or something."

Plague nodded ,she got off of the boat and climbed up to the surface.

"Remember your name isn't Plague when you leave the Underworld!" shouted Hades.

Plague replied with a thumbs-up.

When Plague got to the surface she gazed up the slowly waking sky. The reason why she woke up so early was because she wanted to see more of the surface. The number of years its been since she last saw green grass or the blue sky, she didn't know. She walked out of the dark forest and quietly walked into town.

She looked at the nearest sundial and noted that she had at least two hours before school started. While walking to school she started looking back at her past.

She remembered when she was only a priestess in a temple, and she remembered that dreaded day when Athena cursed her. The other priestesses shunned her and she ran out of the temple as fast as she could. Athena had blinded her, and covered her face with itchy red blotches, and gave her the curse that she could only speak when spoken too.

However, not all gods turned a blind eye.

Morpheus, god of dreams took pity on her and found a way that she can communicate when she wanted. She can only sing on her own whim, singing was different from speaking, and Morpheus used that to his advantage to help her.

And Prometheus, although he was a titan he took pity on her as well. He worked together with Morpheus to allow her to see. Through the dreams that Morpheus gave her, Prometheus gave her the ability of foresight, so that in her dreams she can at least see glimpses of the future, like places she's never been too, or places she has yet to be.

Yet, Plague knew that without their pity, she would have died as a blind beggar on the streets. While walking, she found shrines of Morpheus and Prometheus, she went near the shrines and prayed thanks.

Plague continued walking, she adjusted the fabric that cover her head multiple times, so that no one would notice her short hair.

In the distance she saw a figure running towards her. She squinted her eyes, but still couldn't make out the figure, but she could tell that it was running towards her at full speed.

"L-LOOK OUT!" cried Hercules.

Hercules dug his heels into the ground in an attempt to try and stop. Plague turned and tried to get out of the way, but Hercules had crashed into her.

_**CRASH**_

They were faced down in the grass, Hercules quickly got up.

"I-I'm so sorry ma'm! I-I didn't mean to run into you! Are you alright?" asked Hercules.

Plague lifted her head up slowly.

"Plague!"

Hercules helped her up.

"Are you okay, Plague?" he asked.

Plague put her finger to her mouth.

"Shhh! I'm not Plague, I'm Parthenope. And yes, I'm alright." she answered.

She dusted off her clothes and giggled.

"S-Sorry, I was doing my morning jog…training and stuff…" said Hercules.

-Note: Plague will now change to Parthenope when she's on the surface-

Parthenope nodded.

"Oh um, I almost forgot! You can't talk unless you're asked a question right?" asked Hercules.

"So, you did asked Athena?"

Hercules nodded.

"Yeah…and she kinda…told me everything, sorry." he said while rubbing the back of his head.

Parthenope was silent.

"Oh! I-Is that okay?"

"It's fine, it's much easier to talk to someone who knows about my whole curse thing." she answered.

"Do you wanna run together? We still have a lot of time before school starts."

"I don't think I'll be able to catch up with you." giggled Parthenope.

"Oh yeah, right, we can just walk then."

Parthenope nodded. They walked in silence around the town for a bit, Hercules knew that she couldn't start up a conversation, so that would mean he would have to "take charge."

"How come your name is Parthenope now?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and wondered if she should tell Hades the truth, instead, she came up with a lie to tell him.

"Well, I managed to escape from Hades." she answered.

"Really?"

"Yes, right now I'm in hiding, I had to change my name so that he wouldn't find me so easily." she answered.

"But then, why are you going to Prometheus?"

"What's a better place to hide than in a place full of people?"

"Oh, I see…wait…that means he's looking for you right now!"

Parthenope shrugged.

"You're in danger!" he said.

Parthenope shrugged again.

"How are you so calm about this?" he asked.

"Well…I'm with you aren't I? Won't you protect me?" she asked.

Hercules gulped and scratched his head bashfully.

"O-oh yeah huh…hero-in-training, ha." he said.

Hades watched with a smile as Plague was talking with Jerkules. He only tuned in when he heard her lying to him.

"What a little actor she is!" he said smugly.

"They grow up so fast…" cried Panic as he blew his nose into a tissue.

Hades rolled his eyes.

Hercules and Parthenope walked to school, they still had a little bit of time before school started and Hercules helped her get settled in.

"This is your campus map, cafeterium menu, and your locker number." said Hercules as he handed Parthenope different scrolls stone slabs of writing. "Oh and your student ID, it cost 10 drachma to replace if stolen or broken. Got everything?"

Parthenope struggled to carry everything.

"Y-yeah…thanks Hercules…" she gasped.

"Oh! Sorry, let me help you with that." said Hercules. He took her things and carried it with one hand.

She smirked to herself.

"What?" he asked.

"You're really quick to show off." she giggled.

"Oh, I didn't mean to, d-do I look like I'm showing off?" he asked.

"Kinda, but it's okay, it's kinda…cute?" she stated.

"Oh well, thank you." said Hercules, he cleared his throat and puffed up his chest without her noticing. "There's…something different about you…what is it?"

"Maybe it's cause I'm not blind anymore?" she suggested.

"Yeah…Wait, you're not blind anymore?!" he asked.

"It's great isn't it?" she added. "It's only for one eye though, but it's better than nothing."

"Yeah," Hercules looked at the nearest sundial. "Schools gonna start soon, what's your first class? I'll walk you there."

She took a scroll that was sitting on top of the stack that Hercules was holding and read out her classes.

"I have…Epic Poetry class for first period." she answered.

"Oh, cool! I have that too." said Hercules. She handed Hercules her scroll. "History second, math third…wow! You have all the same class as I do, how weird!"

_"That's because Hades got me in all of the same classes as you…"_

Parthenope and Hercules walked together towards class before the bell rang. Icarus saw them from behind and ran up to them.

"Well what do we have here?" asked Icarus. He nudged Hercules in the side. "Our little Hercy-Werky is growing up so fast, hanging out with a girl-"

Icarus looked closely at Parthenope.

"OH MY GODS, IT'S THAT SERVANT OF HAD-"

Hercules covered Icarus's mouth with his other hand and shushed him.

"She's Parthenope, she's hiding from Hades." he whispered.

"Is that true?" asked Icarus and he pulled Hercules's hand away from his mouth. Parthenope nodded and smiled.

"I hope you can keep my little secret, Icarus." she said.

"Of course I can, no one's a better secret keeper than me, Icarus the Secret Keeper!" he announced. "Where you two kiddies heading to?"

"Epic poetry." Hercules groaned.

"Well, take it from me, "Tis better than to loved and lost, than it is to never have loved at all!" said Icarus.

"What does that mean?" asked Hercules.

Icarus shrugged.

"I have no idea!" he answered. The bell rang. "Well there's go the bell, see you two kiddies in the cafeterium!"

Icarus waved goodbye and skipped down the hall.

"So, what do you think of Icarus?" Hercules asked.

"He's very…outgoing…" Parthenope answered.

"I guess you can say that." laughed Hercules.

In class Parthenope was able to understand most of her subjects. After lunch she started getting the hang of high school. She excelled in Epic poetry and Math, and she started to take a liking in Music as well.

"Oh jeez…" sighed Hercules.

Parthenope looked at Hercules with concern.

"Oh uh, did you wanna say something?" asked Hercules.

"What's with the long face? Don't you like music?" she asked.

"I do, but…"

Hercules went to pick up an instrument, but when he picked it up it broke in his grip.

"See?"

"Ooh…" said Parthenope in realization.

"Hercules." said Mr. Linus. "I hope you do realize that you get graded for playing an instrument…not breaking them, right?"

Hercules nodded his head. Behind them was Adonis, surrounded by his own personal band.

"Honestly, why do you even try?" asked Adonis.

Hercules ignored him. Parthenope tried helping him pick out an instrument.

"Ahem, I was talking here." said Adonis.

"And I was busy ignoring you." replied Hercules.

"Excuse me?" asked Adonis in disbelief. However, he snapped his fingers and one of his musicians crashed a cymbal close to Hercules's ears.

Hercules flinched in surprise and fell backwards, crashing into a large drum and tearing through it.

Adonis only chuckled and soon the class followed him in laughter.

Parthenope looked at Hercules in confusion, but then turned to Adonis. Yet, she couldn't say anything to him because of the curse. After the laughing died down she hung her head down and helped Hercules up.

"It's okay, it's not your fault, you were trying to help me right?" asked Hercules as he dusted himself off.

"I tried, but…I couldn't…" she stammered.

"It's fine." said Hercules.

"Back up so soon?" asked Adonis. "And who's this? Another one of your mis-fit friends?"

Parthenope glared at Adonis head on, and Adonis took a step back, but it wasn't because of her glare, it was because of her overwhelming red blotches that invaded her face.

"You should probably go see a doctor about that…" he said.

Parthenope's mouth gaped open in shock. She turned away from him and cover her face with her himation. She and Hercules sat in silence the rest of the period.

Hades looked at the screen with a blank stare.

"That Adonis guy…he reminds me of that guy….Anastasius! That was his name." he commented. Hades looked closer at Parthenope's face, he realized he had ignored the blotches on her skin up until now. "We can't have our own minion lose morale over some spray tanned wannabe."

"What are you gonna do?" asked Pain.

"I'm gonna pay a trip to one of my favorite goddess…." he smirked.


	6. Chapter 6-Her Inner Self

After school, Parthenope walked back to the Underworld where Hades was waiting for her.

"I saw what happened at school today, the whole Adonis and the face thing." he said. She only looked at him. "So, I thought, we'd get that fixed."

Plague cocked her head in confusion as Hades snapped his fingers. They arrived in a thick smoke, Plague couched and waved the smoke away from her, when the smoke cleared she saw that they were in a temple of Aphrodite.

"Hey, Aphrodite, babe, c'mon out!" said Hades as he extended his arms out.

A loud musical theme began to play,

_"Aphrodite, Aphrodite, Aphrodite~ The goddess of love!"_

"What do you want Hades?" snapped Aphrodite.

"Wow, babe, looking beautiful as always, love the theme song by the way, never gets old." said Hades and he went up to her.

Aphrodite put her hands on her hips and turned away from him.

"Ouch, the cold shoulder," he said. Hades appeared behind Plague. "Well you see, this girl right here has her heart set on Jerkul- I mean, Hercules, but she's been cursed with all these red blotchy things on her, do her a favor why don't you?"

"And why did you come along?" she asked suspiciously.

"I thought I'd send her off to you, goddess of love and _beauty,_ before she decided to make a deal with me, Lord of the _Dead_." he answered. "So what do you say?"

"I can't lift the curse." she answered.

"What? Then what's the whole goddess of beauty thing is a complete-"

"Let me finish," she snapped. She turned to Plague. "What's your name sweetie?"

"P…Parthenope." she answered timidly.

"Parthenope, listen, I can't lift the curse, but I can bring out your "inner self." she answered.

"Oh jeez." Hades rolled his eyes. Aphrodite shot him a glare.

"I can't take away the curse, but I can bring what on the inside, to the outside ,okay? But I don't control what comes out from you, if you think your inner self is worth it, then say the word." she said.

Parthenope nodded and Aphrodite waved her hand over her.

Her blotches disappeared and her cheeks became rosy. She felt her hair growing longer and she took off the himation on her head. The scars where she got burnt disappeared along with various other bruises and scars.

"That should be enough right?" asked Aphrodite. She took out a mirror to show Parthenope.

Parthenope gently touched her face.

"This…this is me?" she asked.

Aphrodite smiled.

"Yep, that's the true you. You like it?" she said.

"I haven't seen myself in a long time, but…I know I never looked like this before." She turned to Aphrodite and hugged her. "Thank you!"

"Oh! It's no problem. Good luck with Hercules." she said.

Hades looked at her suspiciously.

"What?" asked Aphrodite.

"No catches? No, "_you only have until midnight_" type thing?" he asked.

"No, nothing like that, unless you want there to be a catch?"

"No, no, we're good here!" said Hades. He leaned in closer to Aphrodite. "Well, babe, if you think you're free this fri-"

Hephaestus popped out from the ground and growled at Hades.

"We better go." said Hades. He quickly ran out of the temple with Parthenope following behind. "How's the new look doing for you?"

"I love it!" she answered. "I honestly think that you're giving me so much lord Hades…"

"Hey, I can offer a little bit of spoiling once in a while, right?" he asked.

"I suppose so." she answered with a shrug.

"My plan is that you totally give that Adonis guy a run for his money when he takes a look at you." Hades said. He opened the door to the Underworld and they walked back inside. "Better rest up! Brand new day of lying and manipulating tomorrow!"


End file.
